LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

(1) The Political Reform Act of 1974 establishes certain limits on the amount of contributions that a person or group can make to a candidate for elective state office or to a committee.

This bill would prohibit a person appointed by the Governor to an office subject to Senate or Assembly confirmation from making to a Senator or Assembly Member or a controlled committee of the Senator or Assembly Member a gift or contribution during the period between the appointment by the Governor and confirmation by that house. The bill would also apply this prohibition to certain candidates for the Senate or Assembly, as specified.

(2) Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal
penalties. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(4) The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes upon a 2/3 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements.

This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

Digest Key

Vote:
2/3
Appropriation:
NO
Fiscal Committee:
YES
Local Program:
YES

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 85705 is added to the Government Code, to read:

85705.

(a) (1) A person appointed or reappointed by the Governor to an office subject to Senate confirmation shall not make to a Senator or a controlled committee of the Senator a contribution or gift during the period between the appointment or reappointment by the Governor and confirmation by the Senate.

(2) A person appointed by the Governor to an office subject to Assembly confirmation shall not make to an Assembly Member or a controlled committee of the Assembly Member a contribution or gift during the period between the appointment by the Governor and confirmation by the Assembly.

(b) The prohibitions in this section also apply to a contribution or gift to a
candidate for the Senate or a controlled committee of the candidate if the candidate’s term of office would begin within 365 days of the appointment or reappointment, and to a contribution or gift to a candidate for the Assembly or a controlled committee of the candidate if the candidate’s term of office would begin within 90 days of the appointment.

(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 82015, this section applies to any costs related to a fundraising event held at the home of a person described in subdivision (a), including the value of the use of the home as a fundraising event venue.

SEC. 2.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SEC. 3.

The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.